Under the Table
by Took-Baggins
Summary: Ed knows better than to leave a girl alone with the Colonel. Unfortunately he's not there to prevent it until much later. EdWin.
1. Chapter 1

_Look who it is! Yep, I'm back with another small entertainment offering for my lovely readers! And this time it has...MULTIPLE CHAPTERS!! Amazing, isn't it? At the moment I've got this divided into five separate sections and I'm planning to update them every 3 - 5 days. The story is pretty much finished, so that means no lags in between chapters. Isn't that nice?_

_Oh, this is inspired by the "Sake" prompt from my 100 Themes collection. Heh..._

_I hope everyone's in character. If not feel free to fling abuse at me. Or constructive criticism. Actually, any feedback at all would be awesome._

_Disclaimer: I may may wear glasses and be plump, but I am not a bespectacled bovine.  
_

---

"Um...excuse me?" Winry tapped the shoulder of the man at the table. She was fairly certain that this was Mustang's office (every woman in the building had been only too eager to show her the way). Now that she was here, however, she didn't see the man himself. It was late now and she wanted to get to the hotel. She just needed to find out where Ed and Al were first. When they'd asked her to come to Central the morons had forgotten to tell her when to meet them at the hotel. They weren't there yet and she couldn't get her key without them. That, and having to go by headquarters gave her a good excuse to visit Miss Riza and see what kind of trouble they'd been getting into. Winry smiled as the soldier at the table slowly looked up at her, his eyebrows moving away from his blue eyes in surprise. The faint scent of cigarette smoke wafted from him as he stood politely.

"Is there anything I can do for you, miss?"

"My name's Winry, I'm a friend of the Elrics," she offered as introduction. He nodded. "I was hoping to find Colonel Mustang or Lieutenant Hawkeye here. See, I'm not sure where they are now and I need to find them to get into my hotel room. I was hoping one of them could help me."

"Well, I haven't talked to the boys myself and the lieutenant's already left. The colonel should be back any minute now, though. You're welcome to have a seat and wait if you like."

"Oh. Thank you, Mr...um..."

"Havoc. Jean Havoc." They smiled at each other and Winry took one of the empty chairs across from him. For several moments the sound of shuffling paper was all that could be heard. Winry heaved a sigh and Havoc looked up at her. "So...are you from Resembool too?" he asked, feeling a need for some sort of conversation. She smiled again.

"That's right."

"Have you known the boys long, then?"

"All my life. I haven't gotten to see them much lately, though." She trailed off a little sadly, leaving her unspoken thought hanging between them. Recognizing a valid distraction when he saw one, Havoc seized the chance.

"You okay?"

"Oh yeah, I'm fine." Winry looked away from him, tugging absently at her sleeve.

"You sure? You sound upset..."

For a moment she was quiet. "I'm just worried. That's all they make me do anymore." she gave a frustrated groan. "Ed's constantly getting himself beaten up and in the hospital. He won't tell me what he does to tear his arm and leg up that way. And Al...if something awful were to happen to Ed, he'd be a wreck! I swear, one of these days they're going to get themselves killed or something and I probably won't even know about it...do you know, Mr. Havoc, that I don't even know why they asked me to come here?" Havoc had sat silently through the torrent of speech the girl was throwing at him and at this point he had to shake himself a little to respond.

"Miss, do you think maybe they wanted to see you? They can't always go running off without requesting leave first. It makes more sense that you come here."

"That's just it, though. They never just want to see me. They come to me when they need something fixed or someplace to stay. They seem to automatically think I'll be there waiting for them anytime they need me "

"Aren't you, though? You do always come."

"Yes, I am." Another groan escaped her and she slumped forward, leaving Havoc to stare at the back of her neck as it darkened a little. He wanted to ease her mind, but this was quite a bit to be throwing at him. She must have been sitting on all this for quite a while. What an open person she was, just like those boys. He watched her back rise as she took a deep, steadying breath and lifted her head. Her eyes held an odd shine and she looked extremely irritated. "I'm sorry, Mr. Havoc. I don't know what's wrong with me. I guess I'm just tired from the trip. I didn't mean to ramble like that." She leaned forward again, pressing her forehead against the tabletop, just as the door opened.

Havoc turned as the colonel sauntered in, a pleased smirk pulling at his mouth. A good-sized paper bag was tucked under his arm. Naturally, Havoc zeroed in on it. "Needed a drink, Sir?"

"It was a gift...token of affection from the secretary downstairs. Since Hawkeye's gone, I thought we should seize the oppor...tun..." Halfway through his sentence, he had noticed Winry's bowed head. Silently, he stared at her in much the same way Havoc had. The lieutenant could practically see the gears turning in the man's head. Young girl...pretty young girl...pretty young girl in distress...in his office...

"Say, Havoc..."

"Colonel." Havoc put quite a bit of emphasis on the title and Winry's head instantly shot up. Roy stepped back in surprise, disappointment clear on his face as he recognized her. "Miss Rockbell's been waiting for you." Winry didn't miss the grin on Havoc's face as he returned to his paperwork. She smiled politely.

"Colonel Mustang, Sir?"

"Roy."

"Huh?" Roy smirked again and bowed slightly. As much as he loved getting under Fullmetal's skin, he wasn't heartless enough to pick up the girl he was after. It still didn't hurt to be friendly, though.

"You can just call me Roy, Miss Rockbell." She nodded. Roy set the bag carefully on the table where Havoc was (pretending to be) working.

"Okay...uh...Roy? I was hoping that you could help me with something. You see, Ed and Al asked me to meet them here in town today. When I went to the hotel, though, the clerk said they hadn't been there at all. You wouldn't have any idea where else I could find them, would you?"

"They weren't there? Do you think maybe they just haven't checked in yet? Or it's possible that no one noticed his arrival. Being so small, I'm sure he's easy to miss. At any rate, I wasn't aware that he and Alphonse were returning to Central anytime soon." Roy said with a small smile. Vaguely he wondered if Fullmetal was going into spasms somewhere. Still in her seat across from Havoc, Winry nodded understandingly, the movement causing her ponytail to bounce against her neck.

"You're right...geez, I was so mad at them I guess I didn't really think of that. They were calling from somewhere in the west..." She looked immensely relieved as she stood, pulling her bag onto her shoulder. Havoc also rose from his chair.

"Are you going, Miss Rockbell?" he asked. She nodded, smiling at him again.

"Yeah. I guess I'm going to go back and wait for them. Thank you for the help, Mr. Havoc. Colo-er...Roy."

"Hold on." Roy called as she began to move toward the door and a thought struck him. There was no telling how long those two were going to take...no sense in sending her off to sit by herself for half the night. Easily, Roy put on his best smile. "Why don't you wait here?"

---

_I really love Havoc, but I never really use him for anything...Excuse the random spilling of Winry's innermost feelings to the poor, caring lieutenant. She's always struck me as one of those people who tells anybody anything. :)  
_


	2. Chapter 2

_Chapter two! Woohoo!! I'm going to have to add notes at the end of the chapters, I think. I tend to give things away if I don't..._

_Oh, and I'm sorry i didn't reply to the reviews. I worked a couple of long days over the weekend and didn't get a chance to do so. Thanks for taking the time to leave one, everybody!  
_

---

The word pervert kept coming to Havoc's mind. It probably would be a great way to describe what he felt like, staring at the young girl perched on Roy's desk. Winry's skirt had ridden upward, exposing the smooth skin of her thigh without her notice. Her attention was somewhere on the opposite wall. She didn't drink often, it seemed, because it hadn't taken long for her senses to leave her almost completely. Roy was behind her, flopped into his chair with his heels propped up on some form or other. His face was slightly red as he struggled to contain his mirth. This was just _too_ good.

"...in his underwear. He's okay 'long as it's maintenance, but any other time he gets all shy. It's so cute..."

"Is it really? And you like that sort of thing?" Havoc could sense the other man absorbing this fresh blackmail material. Winry was oblivious. She thought for a moment and nodded.

"Yeah...guess it's all the working out, but damn is he hot." She smiled and made a small, humming laugh as her eyes drooped. "Someday...I'm going to get into those shorts. 'Sides, he needs to have some fun...for once..." She mumbled something else that the two men couldn't quite catch and slowly tilted to the side, slumping across Roy's desk and pulling her legs up to her chest.

"Uh...Colonel? Sir?" Havoc ventured, interrupting his superior's sudden burst of laughter. After a moment, Roy wiped at his eyes and quieted to soft chuckles.

"Sounds like somebody's still a vi-"

"Sir, she's out." Havoc interrupted. He was starting to feel slightly ashamed of the state they'd allowed the girl to get herself into. The fact that where he was sitting allowed him a full view of her backside just intensified the feelings of being a pervert. Or maybe more like a pedophile. How old was this girl anyway?

"Didn't last long, did she?" Roy grinned and leaned over Winry's shoulder to give her cheek an inquisitive poke. "Maybe since she's going to be out for a while Fullmetal-"

"You and I both know he's not that kind of guy." Havoc shook his head. Maybe he wasn't the pervert here. "Sir, she's been here quite a while. You think maybe we should call the hotel? See if we can take her over now?

"You know," Roy pulled away from the girl and reached instead for the phone she was drooling on. "I think he'd be rather interested in coming to get her himself."

---

It had been a long three days. Even with Edward's handy ability to sleep through the bumpiest train ride, by the time they reached the hotel, he was exhausted. What was worse, he and Alphonse had both been looking forward to seeing Winry at the hotel. Unfortunately, she wasn't there. A good twenty minutes of panicking over her safety had ended up with them calming down enough to decide that she hadn't come after all. Edward was a little surprised by how disappointed he was.

The disappointment brought on a bad mood that only worsened when he was alerted by the front desk that he had a call from Mustang. Said call was the reason he was currently stomping his way to the lobby and yanking the phone away from the startled desk clerk.

"What?" he snapped, not in the mood to interact with the jerk.

"Fullmetal, I need you to come into headquarters."

"...It's after midnight, you moron! I'll bring you my report tomorrow."

"Look, your girlfriend's here. She keeps saying something about getting into somebody's shorts. Sounds like she intends to deflower someone...Is that you she's talking about? You know you're a little young for that sort of thing, right?"

Edward pulled the receiver away, staring at it for a moment before pressing it to his ear again. "Winry's there? She's doing what now?"

"I said I think she's wanting to deflower someone. Won't give us a name, though." He could hear the smirk in Roy's voice. How the heck was he supposed to respond to something like that? Roy must have mistaken his silence for confusion. "Deflowering is takin-

"I KNOW WHAT IT IS!" Edward's face was getting extremely warm and he rubbed at it irritably, thankful that this conversation wasn't happening in person. "You bastard. What the hell did you do to her ?"

"Relax, she's fine. Doesn't hold her liquor well, though."

"Keep her right where she is," he ground out into the phone. "I'll be right there." Without waiting for an answer, he threw the phone into its cradle and bolted for the door. He'd go get her by himself, there was no need for Alphonse to come. He would handle this.

---

To say Edward was angry when he burst into the office was a major understatement. His face darkened threateningly as his eyes immediately focused on the sight of his friend curled up and sleeping on the desk. A moment of tense silence passed and he shifted his glare to Roy.

"What did you do to her, you bastard?" His voice was dangerously soft, a tone that neither of the men had heard in the time they'd known him. Havoc shrank sheepishly down into his chair. For a moment Roy was taken aback by the intensity of the gaze boring into him. This wasn't the Edward he'd expected after calling him here. This was bad...He saw the young alchemist's eyes flicker to the girl again, worry softening the glare for an instant. Suddenly it dawned on him.

Oh crap. Now that he was thinking about it, two grown men, a girl passed out on a table, alcohol, the three totally alone in a closed office...This wouldn't look good no matter who the onlooker was. Havoc must have realized this too. He chuckled in a placating sort of way. Surely Edward knew him well enough to realize he wouldn't do something like that. A niggling voice in the back of Roy's mind insisted differently. _He's just a kid! There are always stories going around too..._

"Relax, nothing happened." Havoc offered.

"That's right. We offered her a drink and she accepted it. Believe me...she sounded like she needed one."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean? And what. About. That ?" Edward seethed, jabbing a finger at Winry and her exposed panties. He was absolutely livid.

"She had too much. Roy told you earlier that she couldn't hold her liquor." Havoc offered. For a moment Edward's gaze moved from Roy to Havoc, to Winry and back to Roy again. It seemed as if he was more inclined to believe Havoc. With a soft growl, he stalked across the room.

His gloved fingers carefully flipped her skirt down and he maneuvered her around so that he could pull her onto his back. Tucking her legs against his sides and seeming satisfied with his hold, he turned to Roy again. "Once I've taken care of her, I'm going to kill you." Again they were met with the soft, threatening tone. Slowly, Edward turned to Havoc as well. "You...I will slightly maim." With that he left, moving carefully to avoid jostling Winry's limp form and leaving Roy and Havoc slightly startled as they watched him go.

---

_So. Who saw this coming? Anyone? Anyone? Who enjoyed it anyway? Hopefully most of you. In my experience, it's worse when people get really quiet when they're angry. I know Ed doesn't normally do that, but I think at that particular moment taking care of Winry would've been his priority and he would have saved the tantrum for later. What do you guys think?_


	3. Chapter 3

_*dances* It's time for another update already!! I'm thinking about adding another chapter at the end. Maybe an epilogue of sorts or something? I need to work on that._

_---  
_

_It's later than I thought it was..._Edward frowned. He had walked nearly the entire way back to the hotel and not encountered a single soul. The only thing to accompany him on his walk was the moonlight and the soft scrape of his boots on the pavement.

"Well, Winry, this is a great mess that bastard's put me in. Half of Central will probably think I'm getting lucky tonight..." Edward grimaced and spoke softly, trying to fill the silence around them. "Then there's the implications against you...you're going to have a hangover tomorrow too. I guess so, anyway. I don't really drink enough to know myself. Don't usually care for the stuff. Hope it isn't too bad..." He rolled his shoulders a little, trying to move Winry to a more comfortable spot. It wasn't that she was heavy, but she was no lightweight, either. What had only seemed like a small weight on his back six blocks before was a lot worse now. His back was killing him.

"I guess I might have overreacted just a little...he deserved it. But I just couldn't help myself! When I saw you laying there...and I thought he might've...I hear so many things about him. I lost it."

Talking was good, he knew that even if he didn't really want to do it. It let him vent and pass the time all at once. Since Winry wasn't aware of what was going on around her, Edward felt that he could be a little more open than usual. It wasn't as if she would remember it anyway.

"I don't think he's enough of a bastard that he would...you know...but really, can you blame me? I know you can take care of yourself, Win, but...I'd like to take care of you once in a while too..."

"Ngh...Ed...?" He froze at the voice mumbling against his ear. Aw crap, how long has she been awake?

"H-hey, Win."

"...Where are we?" Her voice was faint and she was still half asleep. Edward slowed to a stop, grateful that it didn't seem she had heard him.

"We're almost to the hotel. Just another block to go."

"You're carrying me. Mmm..."

"Yes, I am." Edward's face warmed a little. ""What, did you think I'd drag you all this way by your hair?" It was intended as a joke and Edward gave a small chuckle, though Winry missed it completely.

"...I like it."

"What?"

"You carrying me. I like it. You're warm..." He felt her fingers brush against his throat and glanced back at her. The blue eyes that stared back at him were hooded and dreamy. Their gazes met for a moment before she closed her eyes and buried her face in the base of his neck. The hold Winry had on him tightened; her arms around his neck and her legs where they were pinned against his sides. "We should do this more..."

"Uh...y-yeah..." he managed to stammer. He hadn't missed the tightening of her legs, and as surprising as it was to him he found himself a little uncomfortable. Suddenly he was aware of every inch of contact between them. Her fingers moved to his neck again, stroking blindly at the tender skin as her breath warmed the hair against the back of his neck.

_Stop that, you idiot_! he snapped silently to himself. For a moment he had let his mind wander too freely, to the body and chest pressing against his back. It wouldn't take long for the situation to turn awkward. Unfortunately, the longer this went on, the less tempting it was to tell her to get off and walk on her own. _Not the time for this. DEFINITELY not the situation._ _Come on, Ed..._

"Hey, Winry? Could you-ah!" Startled, he gave a small gasp. Winry had pushed his braid to the side and pressed her lips to the back of his neck. They were soft and warm, and he felt a little jolt go through him.

In a small moment of panic, Edward was clueless to what to do. A sigh of relief escaped him as he spotted the hotel ahead. Deciding that the situation needed to stop, he picked up his pace, Winry giggling into his ear as she bounced against his back.

---

Getting Winry to her room without attracting much attention turned out to be surprisingly easy. Somewhere within the lobby it became obvious that as long as she had some sort of contact with Ed - whether he was carrying her or simply pulling her by the hand - she was relatively quiet and obediant. It was a relief for Edward. He'd been expecting her normal personality to make her want to be difficult. They made their way through the lobby and up to the second floor silently.

Standing outside the door to Winry's room, Edward realized something. "The bags!" he groaned, bumping his forehead against the thick wood of the door. Behind him Winry cocked her head.

"Forget somethin'?" she asked blearily

"Yeah, your stuff." He turned to look at her. It was fall, still warm enough that she was wearing one of those short skirts she liked so much and a buttoned shirt, the sleeves of which only came partway down her arms. Central was several days from Resembool when the trains ran without delay, and he knew she would want to at least change out of her clothes to sleep. Silently he spent a moment sizing her up. "Well...I guess you can borrow something of mine for the night. I'm sure I've got something clean." She smiled brightly at him and he turned back to the door, letting them both into the darkened room. Inside he guided her to a chair and commanded her to sit before making to leave.

"Mmm...Edo?"

_Edo?_ Edward made a face at the odd pronunciation of his name, but turned back to her patiently. "What?

"What's my room number?"

"Two-forty-four."

"Oh. Is that your room number too?"

"No, I'm next door with Al, in two-forty-two."

"Will you stay in my room?" At this Edward couldn't help giving a small sigh. At least she was coherent enough that he didn't have to decipher what she was saying.

"Sorry, Win, not tonight." She looked at him with wide eyes. Strongly, they reminded him of a younger Winry, frightened by ghost stories after dark or the rabbit in the shed they'd thought was a monster. What was she afraid of now? There were so many things...He didn't like seeing her like that and felt a sharp pang of guilt as she pulled at his sleeve.

"But I don't want to be by myself tonight. You're always leaving, Ed, I want to sleep with you." It was an innocent enough request, but Edward choked nervously. _My mind is so far into the gutter tonight..._

"Don't go saying stuff like that. You'll be fine." She tried to press closer to his side and he drew back automatically, feeling the door at his back.

"I want you there with me. I love you, Ed, and I never see you..." Her voice was so soft that he almost didn't hear the last words trailing away. He wished he hadn't.

"You don't know what talking about. Don't start saying things you won't mean when your head clears." He shook her off as gently as he could and she stumbled back into the chair. "Now really, stay there. I'm going to get you something to wear to bed."

"Okay." She smiled up at him. He backed out of the room, returning some fifteen minutes later with his favorite thing to sleep in: his blue boxer shorts and black tank-top. He flushed as he held them out to her. Winry's eyes lit up and he couldn't help a small smile.

"Sorry about this. I'll get your things tomorrow, okay?" Winry ignored him, instead snatching them from him and getting to work getting her clothes off. Edward managed to turn his back on her just as she started pulling her skirt down. _She's going to be dead tired tomorrow,_ he frowned in thought, listening to the girl behind him as she dressed again and obstinately not thinking about her brief nudity. _This'll be my fault, I bet. Those idiots...I'm going to kill them as soon as she's gone back home._

"'Kay, Ed. Done." Still frowning, he turned back to her and froze instantly. _Damn, bad idea!_ Winry had let her hair down as she sank to the edge of the bed. It fell over her shoulders in soft waves. The clothes – _his_ clothes – were a bit big on her and the way that she slouched forward to rest her elbows on her thighs allowed the neckline to dip a little. A teasing glimpse of curved skin was all he caught before he made himself look away. A small pile of dark, lacy...things lay at her feet. Edward couldn't help a small, nervous gulp. Those dark lacy things were underwear.

Why was it that he was suddenly sorry to have her so far away from him?

"Well?" Winry asked impatiently. Her bottom lip curled out at him. "Are you going to sleep with me?" _You're not going to make this easy on me, are you?_ The poor girl probably didn't even know what she was saying. The next morning would be awkward...and she would be angry. Winry would probably hate him, and he didn't know if he could stand that.

"No, Winry. I'm not," he said firmly.

"Huh?"

"You need to sleep I would just keep you awake."

"No Ed, please!" In a flash she was on her feet, stumbling to Edward's side and seizing his arm. "I don't want you to go!"

"Let go, Winry."

"No "

"Come on, don't do this..." Edward pleaded. He tried to pry her off as gently as he could. At first she held on to him tightly, squishing his hand against her chest and causing a deep blush to rise in his face again. After a moment she allowed him to loosen her hands and giggled as she wound them around his neck in an attempt to get his face closer to her. He used the opportunity to scoop her into his arms. "Time for bed!"

"Ed..." she whined softly into his neck. Her breath and lips were warm against his skin, causing him to twitch a little. Her voice carried that dejected tone that he hated to hear. "Don't you like me?"

"Win, you know I like you. You _are_ my best friend," he assured her. _Don't know what you're trying to pull, though..._"We'll talk about it in the morning, okay?" It was an empty promise. There was little chance that she would remember this the next day and he was sure he didn't want to be the one to bring it up. She nodded into his neck.

Maybe it was because her mind was wondering, or maybe she was beginning to come to her senses a little. Whatever the reason, she didn't protest as he deposited her on the bed and pulled the blanket over her.

"Not too bad, huh?" he mused as she gazed blearily up at him. Winry sank back into the pillow with a sigh, her eyes never leaving his face. "Stay in bed. Okay, Winry?"

"Mm-hm."

"Good." He straightened to leave but a small whimper from the bed stopped him. Worriedly, he looked down at her again. "What's wrong?"

"Edo...will you stay with me?"

"We've already been through this-"

"Just until I go to sleep?" He paused. The question wasn't like Winry at all. She was never afraid of anything, why would she want him there? Granted, she was drunk off her rocker, but it still didn't make sense. Unfortunately for Edward, with her staring at him like that and her eyes pleading with him, he just didn't have the heart to say no.

---

_Poor Winry, she's all confused..or is she? Hmm..._


	4. Chapter 4

_I'm sorry about the longer wait for this chapter! I've been very busy over the past few days and didn't get a chance to be here on time._

_I added in a new, small section while going over this before uploading...and deleted the rest of the story in the process! AGH!! Luckily, I had an extra copy on my jump drive. I'll still have to rewrite the ending, though, because it's missing from that one..._

_**Caution: This chapter has an M rating. **_

_It's nothing all that bad, but if it might make you uncomfortable, skip over the first big paragraph, okay?__ The one that starts "It wasn't the first time." Actually, it probably doesn't even need an M rating, I just like to be careful about those things._

_---_

Edward didn't realize that he'd dozed off while sitting next to Winry. If he had been aware he would have been more ashamed of the dream he was having.

He was dreaming about Winry.

It wasn't the first time, but it was certainly the best yet. She sat straddling his hips, one finger playing eagerly along his waist where skin met clothing. She smiled, letting her hair brush softly against his chest as she leaned down to press her lips against his collarbone. They were soft and the heat of her breath sent a delicious shiver up his spine so that he found himself tilting his head back and exposing his neck. She moved to it, nipping gently at the tender skin. He felt her thighs tighten against his hips as her hands splayed against his chest. His own were roaming along her sides, pulling their way into the shirt she wore. It didn't take long for him to find the swell of her chest. Grinning inwardly, he ran his thumb over the small, hardening nub he found there. Winry's body pushed against his hands as she moaned softly against his neck.

"Mmm...Edo..."

That single word caused everything in Edward's mind to screech to a halt. Reflexively, he snatched his hands away from her. Her body had begun making small, excited movements that were quickly becoming alarming. It took all of his willpower to push her away.

"Stop! Winry, stop it!" Frantically, he scrambled from the bed, suddenly embarrassingly aware of his body. He couldn't go back to his room like this! Al would know in an instant what had happened. He began to panic as what he'd been doing to his best friend began to sink in. "What the hell are you thinking!? I know you were drinking, but...jeez, Winry..." His voice rose, but as he glanced over his shoulder, seeing Winry's stricken face staring at him from the covers, he trailed off. Her eyes were wide and confused. For a moment she looked so upset that he very nearly turned around and climbed back into bed with her. So far, though, that had only led to problems and Edward wasn't stupid enough to think that he could do so after what had just been going on.

"But, Ed...wha...aren't we...? What's going on?"

"Nothing, Winry. I-it's nothing..."

"But-"

"_Nothing is going on._ You're still drunk. Get back in bed and sleep it off." Edward snapped. He didn't mean for it to seem so harsh, but he was trying to collect himself enough to handle the situation without losing it. He had almost...with Winry! His friend, his mechanic, his...what was she _now!?_

He heard a movement behind him as Winry left the bed. Immediately, Edward scrambled for the door, slamming it shut behind him. Glad that he had thought to keep it, he fished the room key from his pocket and locked it behind him. A frustrated whine sounded through the door. "Ed! Let me out!"

"Shh!"

"Ed!"

"Got to bed. I'll see you in the morning." For several more minutes she fought with the knob and Edward leaned against the door, listening until she gave in and retreated back into the room. Once the hall had fallen silent, he wearily slid down the door and sat with his back against it, his mind racing and confused.

---

Alphonse found his brother in the hallway around four in the morning. Edward was slumped against the door to Winry's hotel room, the knuckles of his flesh hand grinding into his eye. He hadn't bothered to look up as the door opened and for a moment Alphonse regarded him curiously.

"What's going on?"

"Nothing."

"Is Winry okay?" His brother flinched and Alphonse noticed instantly. "Brother, what happened?"

"Nothing, Al, okay?" Edward still wasn't looking at him. He was upset, Alphonse knew him well enough to see it. Small wisps of hair were escaping from his braid, the result of fingers tugging through it too often in a small amount of time. Alphonse leaned farther out the door.

"I get it. She stills says you're too short for her, huh?"

"ALPHONSE!" The single word escaped before Edward gained control of himself. He comforted himself by pulling off a boot and throwing it at his little brother. For a moment he stared at Alphonse with red eyes. "That's not it! Look, I need to talk to her in the morning and I'm just trying to figure out what to say, okay?" At this Alphonse immediately perked up.

"You're going to tell her how you feel?"

Edward shook his head. "Al, sorry, but can you stay away for an hour or two?"

"Aww..."

"Please? I'd rather handle this by myself." Alphonse made a sound that sounded sort of like a sigh and retreated into their room.

"Fine. I'll just get somebody to fill me in on it later." The door closed and Edward was once more alone in the hall, a small smile splitting his face. _Of course he'd have friends in every part of the hotel by now..._

---

Winry was nursing a splitting headache when she wandered into the hotel restaurant the next morning. From the moment she'd awakened to find herself locked in her room she'd been in a foul mood. It was fortunate that Alphonse had been close enough to hear her pounding on the door and let her out. Innocent as always, he'd had no idea what might have been going on. "Ask Brother," he had said, "he was with you last night." She had scowled knowingly at that remark. _Well, that certainly explains the headache._

The little restaurant wasn't crowded, the breakfast crowd having already been and gone. At the very most there were a half-dozen people dotting the small tables. Winry narrowed her eyes, surveying them quickly before zeroing in on a head of blond hair slumped at a table in the back corner. _Bingo._ A waiter was wandering through the tables and she waved him over, requesting some water and painkillers before stalking toward her friend.

"Edward," she greeted. A jerk rocked his body and he was instantly on his feet.

"Winry!"

"Yep."

"You...you look tired." It was so nice of him to point it out. His eyes darted away from her face and he looked so tired himself that for a moment she felt a small pang of guilt for startling him. It was quickly replaced with annoyance.

"Yeah, well, I apparently had a rough night." She saw him wince at the words as she sat and frowned. He joined her, sighing as he slumped in his chair again and poked idly at some bacon on his plate. The food was very interesting, apparently, and he focused on it intensely. "Ed?"

"Mm?"

"Why was I locked in my room when I got up this morning?" she asked, getting right to the point of things. If he was going to get a beating, she wanted to get it over with. Edward's fork moved to stir the remnants of his scrambled eggs. The utensil slowly gained speed as he refused to look at her. "I was wearing your clothes, too..." she pointed out. She'd been confused by that fact as well, and had changed back into her dirty clothes upon failing to find her luggage. He bowed his head, attempting to hide his flushing face with his hair.

"You...you had to borrow some of mine. We left your things at HQ..."

"Oh. Okay, but why was the door locked?"

"Um..."

"Edward, what happ-" She was cut off by the clatter of silverware as Edward lifted his head to look her in the eye.

"Look, I'm sorry!" he choked out, his face twisting into a guilty frown that was very familiar to her. He huffed a little and suddenly words were pouring out of him in a frantic jumble. "I-I thought I was dreaming and you were drunk and all of a sudden you were all over me and I touched y-your chest and just couldn't help it and I wanted to-I wanted to-" As if he suddenly realized what he was saying, Edward froze in mid-sentence. He stared at Winry in horror as she stared back, her brow furrowed as she tried to process his babblings.

"Uh..."

"Look," He took a breath, steadying himself. He spoke more calmly, although he now looked as if he felt extremely sick. "I understand if you want to kill me or leave or whatever. Hell, I would too, but you have to understand, I..." Vague memories were fluttering around in her tired mind. As she listened, they slowly began to drift into place. Everything from when she had met the Colonel was a blur. She'd arrived at headquarters, something vague about Ed's shorts...and about Ed himself. An image floated into her mind that she immediately pushed away again. They tended to crop up every time she saw him and getting it mixed in with real memories was a bad idea.

"So," Edward had been babbling again, albeit somewhat more calmly, and he quieted when she spoke. "What you're saying is that I was drunk last night?" He nodded and she frowned. That was unusual. "Then, how did I get here?"

"I...carried you here." His face darkened again, causing Winry's frown to deepen. He was doing that so much this morning...what could have been making him do that?

"And I'm in your clothes because...?"

"Because they look freakin' great on you."

"I'm serious!" she snapped. He'd been wanting to lighten the mood, apparently, and didn't know how else to do it. The sheepish smirk on his face evaporated.

"I forgot your bags and I didn't want you to have to sleep in your clothes. They were dirty so I gave you some of mine." That wasn't so bad. She lifted an eyebrow.

"Well, then what are you sorry about? If I was drunk, obviously that would be my own fault. If it's that I had to wait for you, well, it's not the first time."

"No no..." Ignoring the jab at his reliability, his left hand went into his hair, clutching at the bangs as he drew a deep breath and tried to collect himself. "Damn it...Winry." He straightened again, his brow furrowing as he looked her in the eye. "You're a horny drunk."

The silence that followed sent warning bells off in his head and the instant the words left his mouth he regretted them. Winry's eyes narrowed and her face darkened.

"_What did you call me?"_

"Look, you kept trying to pull my clothes off...Win, I woke up and you were _on top of me!"_ he exclaimed, getting himself in deeper. "It was pretty clear what you were trying to do."

Livid, Winry went at him with her fists, knocking him to the floor. She bore down on him, roaring about hormones. He didn't struggle, but answered with own screech of "you have nice breasts, I can't help it if I like them!"

---

_So, Al makes a random appearance and Winry is spared the humiliation of him knowing that she was pretty much molesting Ed. :D Somehow I think that last image was a lot funnier in my head. Darn it...And I feel like Ed's reactions/feelings are all over the place. Then again, he's been up all night agonizing over it.  
_


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